Baby (and not-so-baby) Bellies

As I attempt to gather my thoughts on feeding our, for now, little family, I realize that I am a bit scattered and need a strategy. My heart is to effectively "look well to the ways of my household" and my current battle is organizing my kitchen. And no, I don't mean my pantry. I'm talking about the entire philosophy of our eating and the implementation thereof; something I want to figure out now while I have "less" on my plate. (I couldn't resist)

I'm eagerly reading and testing the best methods to achieve three things:

• Serve the most healthful meals possible by incorporating the most amount of nutrients. (In a form that two small children and one vegetable-shy husband will embrace.) We recognize that the most nutrients come from organic foods (which is why we had such a large garden this year!) So that plays into my thought process in selecting foods.
  
• Maximize our pantry and food storage variety while minimizing the impact on our bank account. Garden also comes into play here...we save significantly by having a garden and preserving what's in it to use in off-peak seasons. I also started clipping coupons - and it is totally worth it!
  
• Reduce stress and labor-time around meals. Many a night of sitting crumpled on the floor in tears, surrounded by cookbooks could have been avoided with... a little planning and preparation.

At any given point (unless there is an epic failure and we order take-out) I typically succeed in at least one of the three areas. But that isn't going to cut if we add more kiddos and schooling to the equation. So I am determined to find a system that works. And the best news:

I have many resources at my finger tips; faithful women who have gone before me.

Starting Point: Plan a menu (November will be our inaugural month) This is the template I'm going to use for the first time around:

Monday- chicken

Tuesday- crock pot

Wednesday- beef

Thursday- salad or soup, depending on the weather

Friday- homemade pizza or something else fun!

Saturday- grill (fish, chicken or beef)

Sunday-casserole

The main books I'll grab ideas and recipes from are Family Feasts for $75 a Week, Deceptively Delicious and Nourishing Traditions. Family Feasts is a great book with everything from recipes to shopping strategies, Deceptively Delicious is a cookbook utilizing vegetable purees in dishes for nutrient boosts (like the beets for "Pink Pancakes" I pureed from our garden this summer to use this winter!) and my favorite, Nourishing Traditions is a WEALTH of dietary and nutritional information, and is full of articles and recipes. Warning: do not read unless you are prepared for a complete paradigm shift in eating! I also just heard that Real Simple came out with a "Month of Meals" including recipes and shopping lists...I will get my hands on that volume!

Oops, I almost forgot that I'm trying to get back in the habit now that it is cooler and I'm "allowed" to turn on the stove ;) to bake all our breads, pizza crusts, soup bowls, rolls, etc. I make double-batches and freeze the extras for quick meals later. My wonderful mother-in-law is my favorite resource but if she isn't answering her phone, I love The Village Baker: Classic Regional Breads from Europe and America.

My main resource (an incredible blessing!) is a co-op we belong to. An amazing group of families committed to serving one another in love so that we can nourish our families at a cost that we can all afford. We buy everything from produce and dried goods to essential oils and cheese in bulk and split them ourselves. I have learned so much from these dear women.

For coupons, there are several sites I subscribe to but my favorite is a Treasure Valley local, www.athriftymom.com. She thankfully does all the thinking for me so I just read her blog, run to the store and do exactly what she says and voila! free (or very cheap) food. Most of what she does isn't organic but I have figured out my own system to use coupons on organic foods and foods that are great for hosting or just fun to have around--occasionally (like Cheetos, shhh.) With coupon deals I stock up on things I use for entertaining: brownie mixes, baked-good ingredients, quick and easy ingredients for spontaneous dinners, etc. This saves quite a bit considering how much we host!

This weekend has been full of prepping for the month to come: cooking chickens, soaking dried beans and making purees. I'm packaging them all in measured, smaller quantities so I can grab a small or cube out of my freezer and have half our meal prepped without blinking!

Harvest continues but is slowly coming to an end. We still have parsnips (great for adding to thing like mashed potatoes for extra nutrients), brussel sprouts, butternut and kabocha squash and carrots left to harvest. As well as a suburban-load of apples to dehydrate and can. My favorite canning resources this year have been the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, the old staple Ball Blue Book, and sites like this one for tried and true "out-of-the-book" recipes.

I'm thinking that I have just spent too much time thinking about my kitchen, rather than spending time in it. And don't worry if this all sounds over-whelming at first. That is why I'm working on a plan, and my sweet husband is creating an Excel masterpiece that will populate, randomly generate, create calendars and store our favorite recipes. I will certainly share once it's finished.

Now where is my apron?